WHO When Toronto DJ Terence Kissner first started playing his dirty brand of techno in 1994, he also started to bring top techno acts to the city. A resident DJ and promoter for AFE Society, Kissner’s first event in 1995 featured the great Daniel Bell (then known as dBx), and over the years he introduced us to the likes of Audion, Swayzak, German minimal maestro Steve Bug (with whom he plays this weekend) and skilful locals like Jamie Kidd and Lee Osborne. Like many in Toronto’s techno community, Kissner is from Kitchener, Ontario where he had his first residency at Rotation every Friday from 1997 to ’99 alongside Jeff Milligan, Mike Shannon, Jeremy P. Caulfield and Adam Marshall. Then Kissner went on to play in Ottawa, Buffalo, New York, Vancouver and some of Tokyo’s best nightclubs such as Space Lab Yellow and Womb, from 2003 to 2005. He also was involved the Tokyo scene as a promoter and A&R rep for Japanese labels Blank Records and Mule Musique. Since returning to Toronto in 2005, Kissner has been at the helm of AFE Society events as well as doing graphic design for its clothing line. After recently touring Japan and Sweden and playing alongside shape-shifters like Guido Schneider and Trentemøller, Kissner is now taking inspiration from his travels into the studio.
WHAT “Minimal house and techno with a hint of acid and electro — really, anything dirty and sexy,” says Kissner.
WHERE March 23 with Steve Bug and Lee Osborne for AFE Society’s Second Anniversary at Footwork (425 Adelaide W.).
FAVOURITE RECORD OF ALL TIME “That’s tough, but I’d have to say it’s between Miles Davis’ Porgy & Bess and Depeche Mode’s Violator.”
FAVOURITE RECORD RIGHT NOW Matthew Styles, Sources EP
FAVOURITE WEBSITE RIGHT NOW www.thedesignersrepublic.com “I love good design and these guys are some of the best.”
WHAT IS YOUR MOST SURREAL DJING EXPERIENCE? “It has to be in Tokyo at Yoyogi Park during the cherry blossom festival. The park was packed with revelling Japanese on holiday, wearing costumes, playing games and drinking with abandon. The sun was already setting by the time it was my turn to take the decks. People surrounded me on all sides, dancing vigorously to the sounds emanating from the speaker stacks. Petals from the cherry blossoms were falling gently onto the crowd like giant snowflakes. As beautiful as that scene was, it wasn’t the most surreal part. As I was waiting to play I ended having an hour-long conversation about genetically modified food with Jimmy Cauty from the KLF, and Alannah Currie from the Thompson Twins.”
WHAT IS VITAL TO YOUR DAILY ROUTINE? Waking up.
WHAT IS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? Seventy-Nine Short Essays on Design, Michael Bierut.
WHAT ACTOR WOULD PLAY YOU IN A BIOPIC? Edward Norton.